This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
In a navigation system for various procedures, such as surgical procedures, assembling procedures, and the like, an instrument or object may be tracked by measuring an effect of a magnetic field on a sensor coil. The sensor coil may include a conductive material that is placed within a magnetic field where a current is induced on the coil. The measured induced current may be used to identify or determine a location of the instrument or object. Determining the location of a coil, however, may be desired to be enhanced in various aspects.
The electro-magnetic field or fields may be generated with a plurality of purposefully positioned and oriented transmit coils. Various transmitter or field generation systems include the AxiEM™ electro-magnetic navigation system sold by Medtronic Navigation, Inc., having a place of business in Louisville, Colo. The AxiEM™ electro-magnetic navigation system may include a plurality of transmit coils that are used to generate one or more electro-magnetic fields that are sensed by a tracking device, which may be sensor coil, to allow a navigation system, such as a StealthStation® surgical navigation system to be used to track and/or illustrate a tracked location of an instrument.
The transmit coils positioned and oriented about one another generally fill a volume smaller than a navigation volume generated by the transmitting coils. The volume including the transmitting coils, however, is generally positioned near the patient so that the navigation field or volume encompasses a region of the patient in which navigation would occur. Accordingly, the transmitter coil array may be near an individual, such as a surgeon, performing a procedure.